Colossians 1:9-11 - Glorious Strength
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Introduction:
Have you ever been in a situation where you just weren’t strong enough to do something? Maybe it was a stubborn rusty bolt. No matter how hard you worked on it, it just wouldn’t budge. Maybe it was a piece of furniture you wanted to move - but you just didn’t have the ability to get it where you wanted it to be. Maybe it was trying to lift weights or run and you just couldn’t get that last rep or run that last lap.
I am sure all of us have experienced the significant limitation of not being strong enough many times in our lives.
Today we are going to be talking about how we can be empowered and strengthened by our wonderful God in order to serve Him. Our flesh may fail, but our God’s power never runs out.
Join me as we read today’s Scripture in Colossians 1:9-11:
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Let us pray.
Prayer
Today we are going to discuss three things we can do through the empowering work of God in our lives. The first is:
I. Through the Empowering Work of God You Can… Be Filled Fully (9)
I. Through the Empowering Work of God You Can… Be Filled Fully (9)
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
We start off with from the day we heard. What day is he referring to? Paul is referring to the day he heard from Epaphras how the church in Colossae was doing. From that day on he regularly prayed for the Colossian church.
Obviously we know Paul didn’t pray for them every waking second. But we see that Paul made it a priority to regularly pray for this church. It could be more accurately understood, we continue to pray for the church of Colossae.
I think Paul’s statement here can be a bit convicting for us today’s church cant it? Are we regularly praying for others? Or do our prayers often end up being mostly about ourselves?
Paul is lifting up these Colossian believers on a regular basis, and it is also interesting to see how he is praying for them. He prays that they are filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
We understand what it means to be filled with knowledge. But what kind of knowledge are we talking about. The knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. The two Greek words for wisdom and understanding are sophia and synesis (sune-a-seas).
These two words are very similar in nature and have a spiritual definition. They both have the Holy Spirit as their source.
These concepts go beyond knowing the right thing to do. Believers with spiritual wisdom and understanding...
Spiritual Wisdom and Understanding:
Do the right thing at the right time in the right way.
Doing the right thing at the wrong time comes from a lack of wisdom and discernment.
We see this played out in Numbers 14:40-45
Israel has just sent spies out to check out the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb and ten others come back and it is only Joshua and Caleb that give a good report. The others are fearful because of the power of some of the people there - especially some people that are giants.
Because of the bad report from the other 10, Israel refuses to go and take the Promised Land and receives a judgment from God that all but Caleb and Joshua will die in the wilderness during the next 40 years because they did not trust the Lord.
So now, some of the men of Israel decide they will go ahead and do the right thing. Too bad that it is just at the wrong time. Moses warns them that God will not be with them and they go anyway and are defeated decisively. Wisdom would have understood that although that was the right thing to do before - that it was not the right thing at this point because the Lord was not with them. Anytime the Lord is not with us - you can bet it is the wrong move at the time!
On the flip side - Doing the wrong thing may stem from either not having the knowledge or understanding to begin with or frankly, by being disobedient.
Lot’s wife found this one out the hard way as she disobeyed God despite His clear command. As God’s judgment was preparing to rain down on the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife decided to look back even though she had been forbidden to do so:
17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”
And a terrible consequence ensued because of this disobedient and unwise choice:
26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Remember how important it is to:
Do the right thing at the right time in the right way.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
Getting back to the beginning of verse 9 and seeing how Paul prays for these people is very convicting in multiple ways. First, like we just said, how much are we really praying for others?
Second, however, is when we do pray for others, what kind of praying are we doing? Is it usually superficial or is it spiritual? Not that it is wrong to pray for someone to be healed or for someone to get a job or for someone to have a great day as these are important prayers - But how often do we pray for spiritual depth and learning or wisdom and understanding for others? How often do we pray that someone else might grow closer to the Lord and obey Him more fully? How often do we pray for someone to have the knowledge of God’s will? This is convicting to me as well. Note that Paul doesn’t pray for physical or material blessings here. He prays for spiritual wisdom and understanding! Paul understood that the things of this world - health included - would fade away eventually. All of our stuff and yes, even our bodies will waste away eventually on earth. Yet the spiritual wisdom and understanding God grants is eternal.
Note that he wants them filled with this knowledge of God’s will as well. This word filled, Greek being plēroō (play-er-o-o), means to be filled completely, made full, and made complete. Paul desires for these men and women to be so full of the knowledge of the will of God that the things of this world are all pushed out.
Our minds are too often filled with the garbage of this world every day. Worldly ideas and philosophies are shoved at us through media outlets, schools, universities, and even liberally-minded churches. In order to combat this we must continually be filled with the knowledge of God. We must be in the Word daily and walking with the Lord in prayer so that he can continue to renew our mind day after day. Romans 12:2 says:
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
How is our mind renewed? Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We can only discern the will of God through the work of God in our lives through His Holy Spirit.
It is only through the Word of God and the Spirit of God that we can be filled fully through the empowering work of God. Next we see...
Scripture References: Numbers 14:40-45; Genesis 19:17,26; Romans 12:2
II. Through the Empowering Work of God You Can… Walk Wisely (10)
II. Through the Empowering Work of God You Can… Walk Wisely (10)
Paul wants these believers to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord as we see in verse 10.
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
This is such a difficult statement. “To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” This is an impossible task for us on earth, but we are to continue to strive for it. We need to continue to strive for obedience and bearing fruit. We need to continue reading the Word of God so that we can grow in the knowledge of God.
It is not enough to just know God’s will or possess wisdom or understanding as we saw in the last verse. We must walk with Christ in faith.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
In order to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him - we must exercise faith in Jesus Christ alone.
May we again note Paul’s prayerful emphasis is on their spiritual health and not as much on their physical health. He wants to see them bearing fruit and increasing in the knowledge of God. He wants to see them growing spiritually.
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Next we see Paul mention bearing fruit in every good work. Brothers and sisters, the Bible is clear that true believers bear fruit. Sadly, many people have misinterpreted the Bible to say that one can be a believer through a single decision with your head and then you can be saved. It is almost simplified to the point of picking the right stock to invest in. Pick this sure thing and then you’ll be good to go! Although there is a definitive truth in this simplicity of the Gospel - that even a child can understand and be saved - it leaves out something vital - and that vital aspect of salvation is called repentance. Repentance requires a change of direction.
Listen to James as he warns us of this in chapter two of his book:
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Ephesians 2:8-9 which we have quoted so often lets us know that we are saved by grace through faith and not be works. We are saved by the work of Christ and not our own works. Yet a true saving faith works. Brothers and sisters, if you look at your life and there is no fruit from your faith - your faith very well might be dead. It may be an unsaving faith. When you are truly born again you become a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. And this new creation has fruit that is seen through good works. A believer should continue increasing in the knowledge of God and growing. There will certainly be ups and downs. But there should be an obvious change in the trajectory of one’s life when they come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Through this power of Jesus Christ we are able to walk more wisely.
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Moving back to verse 10 - I want us to take a step back and see Paul’s heart in prayer here. May we walk with the Lord as Paul did by being focused on things that are eternal before considering the things that are temporal.
We see this stated no better than later in this book.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
In order to walk wisely we must be heavenly focused. We must be focused on what truly matters.
My wife often asks our children during disagreements and scuffles two very important questions.
“Is this still going to matter in months or years?”
and
“Does this have eternal significance?”
As we walk with Christ, may we consider the eternal significance of things that we think on and pray about. May we consider the eternal significance of each step we take as we walk with Christ.
We can only do this through the empowering work of God in our lives which allows us to walk wisely. Finally we see that...
Scripture References: Hebrews 11:6, Colossians 3:2
III. Through the Empowering Work of God You Can… Stand Securely (11)
III. Through the Empowering Work of God You Can… Stand Securely (11)
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
I have entitled this message “Glorious Strength.” This title was taken from this verse. We are strengthened or empowered by God according to His glorious might.
Through the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit in us we can be strengthened with all power. I love that phrase - all power. No just some power. But we are strengthened by the Almighty and All Powerful God who created everything. There is no limit to His power my friends! He never runs on empty!
And this empowerment is brought on by His glorious might.
Don’t miss the reason He empowers us though. It isn’t always so we can always overpower our adversaries and rule and reign on earth. We understand that although we have won the war - there are still battles that we will lose on earth. There are martyrs who die on behalf of Christ daily. Yet, God promises to give us all endurance and patience with joy. He will sustain us in this life and give us the power to overcome despite our trials and tribulations.
We also must not miss that he doesn’t say strengthen yourselves. This isn’t a work we can do my friends. We stand securely because of the might and power of our Lord and Savior. We can withstand the enemy’s attacks because of the never-ending strength of Christ.
6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
We need not fear because we have God on our side. He is our Rock and our Redeemer.
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Getting back to verse 11 we also see that in reflection of the previous two verses - what can we really do with the knowledge of God’s will with wisdom and understanding without God’s power? What good is it to be commanded to walk in a manner worthy of Christ without being given the power to do it? The Bible is clear that none of us are able to be righteous on our own. Yet with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). This power is from God Himself as we have seen.
And after letting us know how and where we get empowered we see how this empowerment should affect us. We should have endurance and patience with joy.
When most of us think about endurance and patience - joy isn’t the first word that comes to mind is it?
Endurance races are called that because they require one’s perseverance to push through the pain and suffering! Patience isn’t any easier as it requires a time of testing in order to show it is there! No one says that someone is a patient person unless they have seen them undergo a testing of their patience in order to exude this fruit of the Spirit!
These words point to one who is able to be steadfast under trial. Believers, through the power of God, can face trials and tribulations as they come with patience. They are able to endure and persevere even among affliction and disappointment.
Adoniram Judson was a missionary who understood endurance and patience in a great way. Judson was a Baptist missionary sent to the unreached people of Burma. He was a pioneer missionary during a time where missions were not encouraged. Frankly, before William Carey, the English missionary pioneer, missions were not a priority. Because of the strong hyper-Calvinist opposition to missions in the 1700’s and 1800’s, mission work was very sparse. Yet, Judson sought support and was the pioneer missionary from America to the East.
Buddhism, being the prominent religion of this area made it very difficult for him to get an audience. He even made a Zayat (Zay-it), which was a common structure that Buddhist teachers would make and preach from to try to share to Gospel and gain an audience. Despite studying the language, the people, and the area - he was seemingly fruitless in his efforts after six long years. Not one convert. What patience and endurance that must have taken.
Can you imagine laboring for six years and not seeing any fruit to your labor?
Yet good news was on the horizon. A man finally came to a saving knowledge of Christ and was baptized and joined his fellowship! What great news! Some fruit to the labor. Yet this also was not without a cost. This led to further persecution. His life was full of ups and downs. He lost two wives to illness and most of his children as well. Yet despite these extreme trials and sufferings, God strengthened him to continue. And by God’s grace, more and more people came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in Burma.
Today, the country of Burma has around 6-8% Christians living within its borders. God used His glorious might to help Judson persevere.
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
Verse 11 ends with a word that we mentioned a short time ago just doesn’t seem to fit.
How can we endure and be patient with joy. This word joy in Greek is chara (har-ra) and means joy, rejoice, and jubilation.
Why should we have joy even when we are suffering. Why should we have joy as we face the testing of our endurance and patience? Because we have been empowered by Christ. When we know where our help comes from we can rest in joyful adoration of our Savior.
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
We can be full of joy because we know Who holds tomorrow for us. We know why we stand securely. We are in the hand of the Lord who will never leave us or forsake us.
We who are believers have been given eternal life through Jesus Christ and have a secure and guaranteed standing with Christ.
If you don’t stand secure through the empowerment of God - friend, take this time to give your life to Christ. It is a work of God in your life. He first draws you by His Holy Spirit as you hear the Gospel and consider it. Then you need to repent, or turn away from your sins. Next, you believe in Jesus Christ - that He was born of a virgin as God-made flesh - 100% God and 100% man. That he lived a sinless life some 2000 years ago, died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead three days later - follow Him and you can be saved. You can stand securely through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
I urge you to make that decision if you have not. There is no other foundation so secure as the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
There is no other place where you can stand securely. All other foundations will crack and crumble but the Rock of Jesus Christ will endure forever.
Scripture References: Hebrews 13:6, Romans 8:31, Matthew 19:26, Psalm 121:1-2
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters. If you have not placed your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and been born again, I’d love to talk with you after the service.
If you have but you realize that you haven’t been relying on the power of God enough - I pray you repent. We can try to stand and walk in our own strength but we will always fall. We must be empowered by the strength that God provides to be filled fully, walk wisely, and stand securely.
Let us pray.
Prayer
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please let me know.
Have a blessed week.